Blizzard
by TheFallenRowan
Summary: Lark and Pine have finally become to-bes. Lark is fascinated with the cats outside her Tribe and Pine feels unhappy with his role in the Tribe. As the Tribe is faced with a growing threat the two cats' loyalties will decide their Tribe's future. Rated T for violence.
1. Allegiances

_I did my allegiances based off of_ Sign of the Moon _. The only additions are more rogues and Night's kits._

 _I will have to end up adding headcanons to the story, especially familial. The only family tree is Brook's._

* * *

 **Tribe of Rushing Water**

Healer: **Teller of the Pointed Stones (Stoneteller)** \- dark gray tom with amber eyes

Prey-hunters

 **Gray Sky Before Dawn (Gray)** \- pale gray tabby tom

 **Wing Shadow Over Water (Wing)** \- gray-and-white she-cat

 **Stormfur** \- dark gray tom with amber eyes; formerly of RiverClan

 **Screech of Angry Owl (Screech)** \- black tom with yellow eyes

 **Splash When Fish Leaps (Splash)** \- light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes and a stubby tail

 **Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook)** \- brown tabby she-cat

 **Flight of Startled Heron (Flight)** \- brown tabby she-cat

 **Dark Shadow on Water (Dark)** \- black tom with green eyes

Cave-guards

 **Sheer Path Beside Waterfall (Sheer)** \- small dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

 **Swoop of Chestnut Hawk (Swoop)** \- dark ginger she-cat

 **Moss That Grows by River (Moss)** \- light brown she-cat

 **Pebble That Rolls Down Mountain (Pebble)** \- pale gray she-cat

Kit-mothers

 **Night of No Stars** \- black she-cat with dark blue eyes (mother to Sheer's kits: **Roar of Thunder at Dusk (Roar)** , black tom-kit with yellow eyes, and **Leaf That Floats on Water (Leaf)** , brown tabby she-kit)

To-bes

 **Snow Falling on Stones (Snow)** \- white she-cat with ice-blue eyes; cave guard

 **Rain That Passes Quickly (Rain)** \- speckled gray she-cat; cave guard

 **Lark That Sings at Dawn (Lark)** \- pale brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes; cave-guard

 **Pine That Clings to Rock (Pine)** \- lithe light brown tom; prey-hunter

Elders

 **Talon of Swooping Eagle (Talon)** \- massive dark brown tom with amber eyes; former cave-guard

 **Bird That Rides the Wind (Bird)** \- gray-brown tabby she-cat; former cave-guard

 **Cloud With Star in Belly (Cloud)** \- pale gray she-cat; former cave-guard

* * *

 **Rogues**

 **Flora** \- dark brown-and-white she-cat with green eyes

 **Stripes** \- silver tabby tom with darker stripes

 **Twist** \- tortoiseshell she-cat with white stripes on her face

 **Flick** \- skinny light brown tom with yellow eyes

 **Blizzard** \- young silver she-cat

 **Wolf** \- young brown-and-white tom

 **Ice** \- big white she-cat

 **Hawk** \- brown-gray tom

 **Mountain** \- big dark gray she-cat (mother of Pebble and Mud)

 **Claws** \- brown tabby tom with very long sharp claws (father of Pebble and Mud)

 **Pebble** \- dark gray tom-kit

 **Mud** \- brown tom-kit

 **Crooked** \- tortoiseshell she-cat with a crooked forepaw

 **Stream** \- blue-gray she-cat with green eyes

 **Rose** \- white tom with pinkish eyes and poor vision


	2. Chapter One

"Hurry up!"

Pine narrowed his eyes at the she-cat in front of him. Wing was looking down at him from atop the ravine with an annoyed expression. She sheathed and unsheathed her paws impatiently. Next to her Sheer was looking at Pine apologetically while Rain studied her paws, disinterested in what was happening.

Pine scowled and scrambled up the stone pile quicker, ignoring the way the hard stone hurt his paws. When he reached the top of the ravine Wing was pacing back and forth.

"You need to walk faster," Wing scowled. "A good prey-hunter needs to be fast."

"Don't be so harsh on him," Sheer meowed. "He's only been a to-be for two moons. He has time."

Wing shot Sheer a doubtful glance and looked down at Pine. "Well, we might as well continue." She sighed. "We have a bit more time before sundown to finish our training."

Pine held back a sharp retort as he followed his Tribemates. He was not slow. He was faster than most of the to-bes and a few of the prey-hunters. _I'm just somewhere new. I don't know where I'm going._

He had not yet seen all of his Tribe's territory. He guessed it was because some of the older cats were still wary of the rogues. Which was ridiculous, Pine knew he could fight off any of them. With enough training, that was.

"Here we are," Wing meowed. They were in a small, circular clearing surrounded by stones and dead bushes. A fallen tree lay in the center of the clearing, cutting it in half. The ground was hard stone except for a small patch of dirt near the tree. "Follow me," Wing meowed, entering the clearing.

Pine followed warily, watching the sky in case any eagles might be watching them. There was no covering, so hiding from the eagles was not an option. _At least if one comes I can fight it off_ , Pine remembered. Showing Wing his skills might make her proud of him.

Wing sat by the tree and wrapped her tail neatly over her paws. Pine sat facing her about a rabbit-length away. "What do we do now?" Pine asked curiously. He glanced up at the sky again. "Will we be catching eagles?"

"Not yet," Wing meowed. "We need to have some bait first."

Pine stopped himself from sighing. _I don't want to hunt_. "What if we use me as bait?" he offered. "It will be quicker, and I could fight off any mangy old hawk if I had to!"

Wing shook her head, annoyed. "No, Pine. You're not strong enough to fight off an eagle, even a young one. The cave-guards can worry about that."

"We could use Rain as bait." Pine pointed out, looking over at the to-be who was washing a paw.

"Hey!" Rain meowed indignantly. "That's not fair! Why can't you catch a mouse or something?" Sheer twitched his whiskers, trying not to laugh.

Pine smiled, imagining the gray she-cat fighting off an eagle while keeping her fur clean. "Stop," Wing growled. Pine looked at the prey-hunter. "We are not going to be using cats as bait. We will use a mouse."

Pine growled slightly and scuffed the ground with his paw.

Wing glared at him. "I am sure you can find a mouse in this clearing. You haven't caught one in a while. Practicing will keep you from forgetting your form." She pointed with her tail at the fallen tree. "You should be able to hide there. Your fur will blend in with the tree."

Grumbling to himself, Pine crouched next to the tree. "Perfect form," Wing complimented with surprise. Pine lashed his tail in annoyance. The only time his mentor had praised him that day was about his form. Nothing about how hard he had been working to keep up, or about how avidly he had been learning.

He ignored Wing until she walked away. He looked around the clearing, hoping to see a mouse. A few minutes later he was ready to give up. _Wing acted like this would be a great place to catch a mouse_ , he thought bitterly. _But all I see is stone_. Suddenly, he heard a faint scratching sound. He swiveled his ears, trying to find the source of the noise. Across the clearing, about a wolf-length away, there was a small mouse. It was sniffing the roots of a dead bush. 'It must be looking for food,' he thought.

He slowly moved forward, unsheathing his claws and bunching his muscles. He narrowed his eyes, waiting for the perfect time to pounce.

"Stop hesitating!"

Pine pricked his ears and jumped to his paws. "Who's there?" he asked loudly. "I'm not afraid to fight you!" He growled, looking around to see what rogue had wandered into their territory.

"It's just me," Wing growled, appearing from behind a bush.

"Oh," Pine mewed in disappointment and relief.

Wing stomped over to him, tail lashing and eyes glaring. Pine felt his heart drop. _Tribe of Endless Hunting, please help me_ , he prayed.

"Pine That Clings to Rock," she growled when she stood in front of him. She looked him in the eyes. "You need to calm down and focus on what is ahead of you. You can't be prepared to fight every time you sense danger. That's the cave-guards' job. And look, your prey has just escaped."

He looked over at the bush, where the mouse had disappeared. He looked back at Wing. "I'm sorry," he murmured, not meeting her gaze.

Wing sighed. "I can't deal with your apologies today. Let's head back." She turned away from Pine and walked over to the path they had come from.

Pine looked over at Rain, who was rolling her eyes. "Gosh, you'd think a wolf had bitten off her tail," she meowed. She looked at Pine. "Ignore her. Wing has always been easily annoyed."

He gave Rain a fake smile. "I guess," he mewed with a shrug. He ran towards Wing, who was now walking next to Sheer.

"Take a deep breath," Sheer mewed quietly. "He is still learning."

She shook her head. "Splash and I have been trying to make him a better prey-hunter for the past two moons. I might give up and ask Splash to take over. She has more patience."

Pine flattened his ears to his head. _I'm trying_ , he thought desperately to himself. _I just hate being a prey-hunter_.

Rain walked up to him and put her tail on his back. "Cheer up! She'll calm down soon."

Pine shook his head. "It seems like every day she becomes more annoyed with me." He sighed.

"Please, she's only having a bad day."

"Every day is a bad day for her."

Rain laughed. "My mother has always been a pain in the tail. She takes a while to warm up to other cats."

Pine shrugged. _How can she talk about her mother like that? Lark would claw my ears off if I said something rude about Brook._

A snowflake fell on Pine's nose, making him squeak in surprise. "It's snowing," he meowed. He had never been in a snowstorm. He had only seen them from a distance when he was younger.

Rain looked up at the sky and smiled. "It is!" she meowed excitedly.

Wing stopped and glared at the sky. "We better hurry up in case a blizzard comes through."

Pine looked over at his friend, who just twitched her whiskers in amusement. "That's my mother."

The patrol walked in silence the rest of the way. When they made it to the cave Wing stomped over to the prey-hunters' sleeping area. Pine ignored her and walked over to the to-bes' area, hoping to see his sister. But the to-bes' area was empty.

"Where is she?" Pine wondered aloud.

"She went out with Snow and Flight."

Pine looked down at a tiny black tom-kit. "You shouldn't be over here, Roar," he warned. "You're not a to-be yet."

Roar shrugged and continued speaking. "They left at sunhigh."

"Sunhigh?" Pine meowed. "Shouldn't they be back by now?"

Roar shrugged again. "I don't know," he meowed. "Do you want to play prey-stone with me? Leaf's taking a nap and Night won't let me wake her up."

 _What if she gets caught in a blizzard?_ He looked over at the entrance again where he could tell the snow was falling more heavily. _I shouldn't worry about now. Lark can take care of herself._ He shook his head and looked down at the kit. "Sure, but don't plan on winning," he meowed with a smirk.

Roar laughed and ran over to a pile of stones on the end of the cave. _I hope she's safe,_ he thought, running after the kit.

* * *

 _I hope you liked the story! If you have any feedback or questions, I am happy to answer them!_


	3. Chapter Two

Lark stood on the rock, the cold breeze making her shiver. Snow fell gently from the sky, slowing covering the mountains in white. She jumped off with a yelp of glee into a small pile of snow. It stuck to her fur, and she shook herself to get it off.

"Be careful!" Flight called out from behind her. Lark looked behind her at the brown tabby she-cat. She was making her way up the ridge, carefully stepping over the patches of snow. "I don't want Stoneteller scolding me about you getting injured."

"Don't worry," Snow meowed teasingly. "Lark's a careful cat. She'll be fine." The white she-cat was looking up at the sky from atop a rock. The snow stuck to her whiskers and fur, making her appear even fluffier than she already was.

"You look like you're turning into a snowcat," Lark laughed. Snow shook herself, spraying pieces of snow everywhere.

Flight sighed, but her eyes were sparkling in amusement. "Keep shaking off your fur, we don't want you catching a cold." When she reached the top of the ridge she jumped into the snow, landing a couple mouse-lengths away from Lark.

She looked up at the sky, shaking off the snow that stuck to it. "We should be getting moving faster. I'm worried that we'll get hit by a blizzard."

As if hearing her words, a gust of wind came through, spraying Lark's face with snow. "Gah!" she exclaimed, closing her eyes. "I'm blind!" When the wind stopped, Lark saw Snow lying in the ground, laughing silently.

"Hey!" she mewed defensively. "I've never been in a snowstorm before!"

Flight nuzzled her ear. "It's okay, Lark." She looked over at Snow, who was now sitting shaking out her thick fur. "Let's get going before this turns into a blizzard."

"Are we going to get your caught-prey first?" Lark asked. "It shouldn't be that cold."

The brown tabby shook her head. "No, I think it would be safer to just go back to the cave." She nodded towards Snow, who was walking up to them. "Let's go. I know a shortcut."

Flight walked off, leading a small trail in the snow. _It's snowing heavier now_ , Lark realized. _I hope Flight is wrong about the blizzard._ Ignoring her concerns, Lark followed Snow and Flight.

"Why aren't we going down the ridge?" Lark asked when she noticed they were moving in the opposite direction.

"The ridge is too icy, especially for to-bes. I don't want you breaking a bone."

"I'll be fine! I'm ten moons old."

Flight sighed. "Walking down an icy ridge is how Splash lost part of her tail, it's not safe. And if we go this way, we can use my shortcut."

 _What if I get injured?_ Lark wondered. She looked at Snow, who seemed unfazed by the story. She shook her head. _It'll be fine. Flight will look out for me._

The cats continued to cat while they walked, occasionally pausing when the wind was too loud to hear. Lark wished that it would stop snowing so she could explore the territory in the snow. They were walking by the rogue border now. She had only gone there once when she was a new to-be.

Eventually, they had to be quiet. The snow was thick, and the wind was too strong for them to talk without yelling. Lark walked close to Flight, worried that she would be blown away if she was by herself. Suddenly, Flight stopped, nearly making Lark run into her.

"What's wrong?" Lark yelled.

Flight looked behind them. Her panicked eyes looked around the area. "Do you know where Snow is?" she asked loudly. Fur began rising up on her spine.

"What?" Lark asked. She flattened her ears, her heart racing. "No, I don't know where she is." _Was she blown away?_ Lark fretted.

The prey-hunter growled and pawed at the ground. She looked around, first at Lark and then behind them again. She made a frustrated sound before looking at Lark. "Are you fine with walking back with me? Just a bit in case we can find Snow?"

Lark nodded. She was tired and cold, but leaving Snow behind did not feel like an option for her. "Sure," she replied.

Flight smiled apologetically and turned around. Lark followed her, trying to find the other to be in the blizzard. _Her fur is white, how am I supposed to find her?_ Lark looked around, hoping to see a misshapen lump in the snow or the flash of the apprentice's ice-blue eyes.

The wind began to blow harder, and Flight stopped moving. She looked down at her. Her eyes revealed fear. She swallowed, seeming to fight back sobs. "We should turn back. I don't think we'll find her in this weather."

Lark felt like she was falling apart. She knew what Flight really meant. _We'll never find Snow,_ she thought. _I should have been watching her._

"Okay," Lark responded. She turned back with Flight, trying to ignore the wind that was blowing harder now. They stayed silent as they walked, no one speaking about what had happened.

 _Maybe we should find shelter,_ Lark thought worriedly. She looked around her, hoping to find a bush or a small cave. _I don't think I can make it._ Her limbs hurt and she was shaking from the cold. She had never been out in weather like this.

The wind began to blow harder until it turned the whole world white. Lark couldn't see anything and she had to close her eyes to keep the snow and ice from hitting her eyes. "Flight?" she called out. A faint yell told her she was not too far from the older she-cat.

Then a gust of wind hit Lark, sending her into the air. She tried to call out Flight's name but the storm silenced her. When she fell back down she realized that her back leg was hurting. She tried to move it, but it sent excruciating pain up her leg. Lark laid in the snow, hoping the cold would numb her pain.

When she felt like she could move again she stood up, beaten down and tired. She didn't feel anything as she slowly found an overhang where she could hide from the storm. Feeling numbness through her whole body, she laid down on the uncomfortable, cold stone and drifted off into the blackness.


	4. Chapter Three

Pine moved back from the half-eaten eagle while Rain took a bite. The gray she-cat licked her chops before nodding at Pine. Pine took a bite from the eagle and swallowed hungrily. The patrol from earlier had left him famished.

Rain laughed. "You're eating like you haven't seen a piece of caught-prey in moons!" She took another bite of the eagle. "Are you okay?"

Pine nodded absently and forced himself to smile at the she-cat. "Yeah," he murmured, taking another bite. He was not okay. His sister and her friends had not yet returned from their trip. He had tried to ask Roar for more details, but the tiny tom-kit had been too distracted by their game to pay attention to him. He looked around the cave, wondering if he should tell one of the prey-hunters or cave-guards.

The she-cat narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Really?" she asked. Pine hated when she acted this way. She could always tell when he was in trouble, but her advice was not always the best.

He looked down at his paws. "I'm full, actually," he meowed, standing up. Rain cocked her head to one side, confused.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You seemed pretty hungry a few moments ago."

Pine shook his head. "I just need to take a nap. That walk left me pretty tired." _And hungry_ , he thought, a bit regretfully. As much as he wanted to eat, talking to Rain was not something he wanted to do.

"Okay," Rain meowed with a shrug. "I'll tell Lark—" Rain stopped. "Where _is_ Lark?"

Pine tried to shrug casually. "I dunno," he murmured. Rain stood up and looked around.

"And Snow. I haven't seen them since dawn."

Pine hated Rain's concerned tone of voice. _I'll tell one of the older cats. They'll know what to do._ He felt odd accepting help from Rain. As much as he liked her, getting her involved would end up being a catastrophe. _She'll want to run into the blizzard after them. Or she'll come up with some ridiculous plot to find them._

"Let's go ask Wing," Rain suggested, bounding over to the prey-hunter's area. He saw the gray-and-white she-cat talking Stormfur. _I hope they're not talking about me,_ he thought as they approached. He felt a pang of guilt at the thought. He should be focused on his sister.

"Stormfur! Wing!" Rain called as she ran over. She almost tripped over a sleeping hollow as she skidded to a halt in front of them. Pine jumped over, wondering how Rain could be so clumsy.

Wing narrowed her eyes at Pine. "Yes?" she asked. Stormfur smiled apologetically at Pine. _Another cat trying to make me feel better about Wing._

"Snow and Lark are missing," Rain meowed, panting. The two prey-hunters exchanged worried glances. "I haven't seen then since dawn."

Nodding, Pine continued the story. "I think they went outside," he offered, trying not to look at Wing.

Stormfur looked at the two to-bes. "Flight left at sun-high," he murmured. "Maybe Snow and Lark followed them." His amber eyes were wide with fear.

"Flight and Snow…" Wing meowed. Her voice sounded concerned, but Pine could tell that she was trying to hide her frustration. She looked at the cave entrance. "I'll go tell Stoneteller," she meowed. Stormfur followed her silently.

Rain seemed shaken, as if the news about Snow's disappearance had finally hit her. He felt guilt well up inside him as she nudged the ground with a paw. _I should have told everyone earlier. Then we could have gone after them._

Pine nudged his friend's cheek. "Do you want to go finish the eagle?" he asked.

Rain smiled slightly. "Sure," she murmured.

He walked back towards the eagle with Rain. _As reckless as she is, she could still use some care. Maybe then she won't make so many bad decisions._


End file.
